It is proposed to investigate the electrochemical oxidation of a number of biologically important purines, purine nucleosides, deoxynucleosides, nucleotides, deoxynucleotides, oligonucleotides and natural and biosynthetic polynucleotides. By using a range of techniques including linear and cyclic sweep voltammetry, controlled potential electrolysis, coulometry, potential step methods, thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry, pulse and differential pulse voltammetry we expect to elucidate electrochemical oxidation routes, mechanisms and products. Such studies will provide information which will help in understanding the biological oxidation pathways and products of such compounds. In addition this work should be of value in understanding an almost totally unexplored area of bioorganic electrochemistry. It is also planned to investigate the use of differential pulse voltammetry at a pyrolytic graphite electrode as a tool to investigate the structure of polynucleotides such as DNA.